Giving up anything can be difficult at first, especially if it's an old time favorite. That's one of the reasons dieting can be such a challenge. Add a nursing child and dairy allergies to the list and, although it may change the spirit of the deprivation, it can still be a struggle for mom. Luckily, with the increasing awareness of healthy foods, the benefits of soy, and a movement towards ethical consumption, there is a long list of readily available, nutritional dairy alternatives that might make the nursing mom a little more comfortable (and healthier) while keeping the baby safe from allergic reactions.
One of the major concerns for mothers with dairy allergic nurslings is calcium. Women are regularly and overwhelmingly bombarded with the importance of calcium in our diets. Unfortunately, these calcium pushers are selective about the information they provide; ignoring the fact that there are many dietary reasons calcium is depleted from our systems. According to John Robbins, author of The Food Revolution (Conari Press Books, 2001), animal protein, salt, and caffeine produce calcium loss through urinary excretion. After eating a hamburger, a woman can loose 28 milligrams of calcium while one cup of coffee only depletes us of 2 milligrams.
Robbins further sites the American Journal of Clinical Medicine stating cow's milk has one of the lowest absorption rates (32%) of all the calcium sources available in any store. On the other hand, kale, turnip greens, broccoli, mustard greens and Brussels sprouts have calcium absorption rates of 50% or higher. Despite this, the dairy industry still maintains that one must consume outrageous amounts of calcium-rich vegetables or soy in order to get the equivalent amount of bio-available calcium as found in 8 ounces of milk. Not true, according to Robbins. Indeed, it only takes ˝ cup of sesame seeds or ˝ cup firm tofu with calcium to get the same amount of calcium as a full cup of milk. Why? It's all about absorption rates.
That said, there are a number of readily available dairy substitutes on the market that provide great flavor and nutrition while filling the nursing mother's need for the dairy sensation. This long list includes soy yogurt, milk alternatives, frozen soy and rice desserts, cheese substitutes, sour cream substitutes, and imitation cream cheese.
Soy yogurts come in a variety of flavors including blueberry, strawberry, Key lime, peach, raspberry, cherry, vanilla, and lemon. Silk, Whole Soy, and Trader Joe's are the best brands available. Whole soy also produces a calcium-enriched drinkable soy yogurt. Veggie Slices also manufactures soy yogurt that is available in most stores, but it falls short on flavor.
Milk alternatives are quickly becoming a popular item in grocery stores; mainstream and otherwise. Whether you're looking for soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, or oat milk, you can usually find a tasty milk alternative in the health food section of most markets. Many of these products are enriched and contain as much, if not more, calcium than cow's milk. Silk, Westsoy, Almond Breeze, Smart Plus, Whole Foods, Rice Dream, Soy Dream, and Pacific are just a few of the companies making non-dairy milks in a variety of flavors. Not only can these items replace milk in cereal, smoothies, or home-made ice cream, you can even use these in your favorite recipes.
Soyajoy, Soy Toy, Salton, and Miracle Soy are just a few of the soymilk makers available in stores and online making it easy to make your own soymilk at home. Not only is it easy, it is less expensive. This method gives you the freedom to create your own flavors, sweetened and unsweetened, fresh every day. The difference in flavor does take some getting used to, though.
If you like ice cream and ice cream sandwiches, have no fear… Soy Delicious, Tofutti, Soy Decadence, and Rice Dream are here. Each company makes a variety of frozen ice-cream substitutes including frozen sandwiches, "fudge"cicles, ice cream, and more. All of these desserts are tasty. Frankly, the Tofutti and Soy Decadence products will fool even the most devoted of cow's milk fans.
Imitation cheese products are more prevalent that ever. Unfortunately, most of them contain the milk protein, casein, which can trigger an allergic reaction in your nursling. This is the case with Veggie Slices, Good Slices, and Tofu Rella. If you are fortunate enough to live near a health food store selling Tofutti sliced vegan cheese, get some. It's got a buttery taste, even if it doesn't melt very well. Soyco makes vegan cheese alternatives that have a pleasant taste if you aren't expecting them to taste exactly like cheese. Follow Your Heart also has a vegan cheese alternative. It's been getting rave reviews from the vegan community and is available in some stores and online. Other options include Hemp Rella, Almond Rella, Soya Kaas, Rice, Vegan Rella, and Road's End Organics products. If you prefer making alternative cheese products at home, there is a short list of recipe books including The Uncheese Cookbook and Vegan Vittles by Joanne Stepaniak. Both books have been well received in the vegan community.
Do you miss your morning bagel and cream cheese or your baked potato with butter, sour cream and chives? Again, Tofutti comes to the rescue with plain and flavored "Better than Cream Cheese" and "Sour Supreme". For a different twist on these products, try the Rice sour cream and cream cheese or the Soya Kaas products. If you're looking for a margarine or butter replacement, keep your eyes open for Willow Run, Earth Balance, and Veggie Spread. Each of these is tasty. The butter substitutes don't usually spread very well, but they melt perfectly.
Whether you are faced with the challenge of nursing a dairy allergic child or if you are ready to go dairy-free, you need not feel deprived. There are many milk-free, non-dairy alternatives available on the market today making it easy to get the flavor and sensation of dairy without suffering through allergic reactions. Many of these alternative products are lower in fat, last longer, taste great, and are reasonably priced. It's just a matter of trying them.
--Lucy Watkins is the site manager for vegetarianbaby.com and co-editor of Vegetarianteen.com Online Magazine. She writes the Celebrity Buzz column for VegNews. This article first appeared in Lone Star Ma magazine.
Feedback:
My soon-to-be three year old son has suffered with severe eczema since birth. For most of this time he has been red and itchy, with various crusts and scabs, sleep was non-existent. When he was 18 months old a homepath suggested to me that milk allergy could well be a problem. He loved milk, to the extent he was almost a milk junkie, but they say that what you crave most can in fact be your allergic trigger.
This advice was followed up within days from our dermatology department, which confirmed that he was milk allergic. All dairy products were banished from his diet and literally overnight he showed vast improvement; although not a total clear up, the underlying redness in his skin decreased. But he was still itchy and his skin still crusted over, we dislike throwing chemicals at a problem, but at this point were desperate to alleviate his suffering. Following conventional medicine we embarked on topical steroids (far more powerful than available from our doctor) and later used a product called Protopic (recently reviewed and connected to an increased risk of cancer by the FDA).
We have felt wrong using these products but felt forced down this road by the doctors. When I heard about the connection between Protopic and cancer I decided a radical change was needed. I now use non-petroleum based, organic skin products only, have banished detergents from the house, and I have also made a concious effort to increase his intake of omega 3 and 6 oils.
Whilst researching these steps I came across a connection between red meat and inflammatory reactions within the blood. My son just loved his meat, in fact you could almost say he was a red meat junkie...the alarm bells started to ring and from that moment (four weeks ago) he hasn't (in fact, none of our family have) had red meat. [We still eat fish and eggs.] People are commenting on my son's skin and how well it looks. The red bags that seemed to be constantly under his eyes have all but dissapeared. All of our family are feeling healthier and have more energy.
So whilst not totally down the road of being vegetarians, in a very short space of time we have all seen enormous benefits from a healthier, more varied diet (you certainly have to be more imaginative when dairy products can't be used as well as meat!).
I am bemused then at the fact that many health care professionals still advocate the fact that red meat is essential for iron, and milk for calcium. Diet is a much-neglected and overlooked factor, especially in illness. Am I the only one who feels this? Guidance from the NHS (I live in Scotland) is sadly lacking, and when we embarked on a diary-free diet the dietician basically told me not to give my son chicken nuggets. I found this insulting as 1) I would not eat them myself let alone feed them to my children and 2) I hardly classify that as dietary advice.
I haven't even told our health visitors that we are now generally not eating meat as I feel that this would be frowned upon for my kids (both are under 5). Especially as we are dairy-free, too.If eczema is a problem for you, then I would heartily recomend a dairy free veggie diet, it worked for us.
--via email
Thank you so much for this article! It has taken several doctors months to pinpoint my daughter's gastrointestinal problems. She was born three months premature, and they all assumed that her prematurity was the cause for her reflux, intestinal irritation, and failure to thrive due to fat malabsorbtion. At almost one year old we are finally on the right track! We found a doctor who not only fully supports my choice to breastfeed (vs. the formula pushing doctors that had seen her previously) but also is very knowledgable about milk allergies. For the past six weeks, I have cut every milk product, eggs, and even some meat products out of my diet (many dairy-free foods are not only dairy-free, but meat-free, also). I have seen a significant improvement in my daughters gastroitestinal problems. Her feeding tube (in which she recieves expressed breastmilk for "effortless" nourishment to compliment breastfeeding alone) will finally be removed this month! She is finally putting on some weight, and her reflux has greatly improved. Although she is still extremely small for her age and has severe developmental delays, we are all very confident that she will grow and thrive as a healthy, normal child. Being new to the vegan diet has been a somewhat daunting experience...carefully looking at the ingrediants of all my old favorites and finding dairy in the most unimagianable foods...giving up Starbucks Frappacinos...and cheese! I have tried several varieties of dairy- free cheese with not a lot of luck. But thanks to a few of your suggestions, Toffuti slices and Follow Your Heart, I have a few new varieties to sample, and hopefully will find a new favorite. As my tastebuds are becoming more and more used to this vegan diet, my two older children (ages 2 and 4) have actually begun to try and enjoy these new foods as well. (They were both breastfed into toddlerhood without any gastrointestinal issues). Although I initially began this diet for the sake of my nursing child, I am more and more convinced to make this a permanant change. I myself look healthier and feel healthier and the more I learn about the Vegan Lifestyle, the more appealing it becomes to me. Thank you for your insight and suggstions!
--Barbarann Garrard
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